An Anonymous Girl

“I pursued a married man. I even slept with him. Oh, and his wife hired me; she kind of knew about it. And by the way, I think one or both of them might be involved with this other girl’s suicide... But her love for (him) is as twisted as everything else about her: It’s all-consuming and toxic and dangerous.”

In my own words I guess,

Your protagonist

Jessica.

If any of you are familiar with the Lifetime/ Netflix series You, and you love it, then this if for you! I'll even go as far as saying it's better! Heck, I would champion a televised or film production for this too, it's brilliant! Imagine being privy to the deepest insecurities and most intimate thoughts of somebody, you know the name of their employer, home address, their birthday, etc, and all because you paid for it. What will you do with all of this information? Weaponise it?

“You’re Invited: Seeking women aged 18 to 32 to participate in a study on ethics and morality conducted by a preeminent NYC psychiatrist. Generous compensation. Anonymity guaranteed. Call for more details.”

In a kiss, marry, dump situation this is the kind of book you marry: an exposition of one character who reveals herself by hiding and the other who pays to watch it happen, and how one question, are you cheating on me, could demolish everything, even oneself.

My favourite quotes, theme: Self preservation!

"You wrote something quite telling during your very first session. The words form in the mind, one by one, just as they appeared on the screen as you typed, unaware that you were being watched via the laptop’s camera: When it comes down to it, I’ve only got myself to rely on.
Self-preservation is a powerful motivator, more reliably so than money or empathy or love.
A hypothesis forms.”

“A secret is only safe if one person holds it, I think. But when two share a confidence, and both have self-preservation as their main motive, one of them is going to give”

“Communication is a vital component of a healthy partnership. It is a necessary foundational aspect of a romantic relationship, as well as a therapeutic one.
Yet self-preservation must trump the blind trust of one’s spouse. Particularly when one’s spouse has proved untrustworthy in the past.”

“Those extraneous “no’s” are your undoing: Liars, like the chronically insecure, often overcompensate.”